PART of Settle's millennium community festival was saved this week when town councillors stepped in to underwrite costs.

The week-long July event was facing being scaled down after a lottery funding bid for £7,115 failed. Organisers were waiting for a decision on other grants, but time was running out as professional help for the festival needed to be booked.

Organiser Peter Huby asked Settle Town Council on Monday if it would guarantee the £1,250 shortfall to enable the festival to go ahead in its entirety.

The festival, from July 16-22, features a community play in the Market Place, called Offcumdens -a History of Strangers, an Opera Gala with international soprano Susannah Glanville, who comes from Settle, the Langcliffe Singers and Settle Orchestral Society and pub music at different venues all week.

A flag festival with banners displayed throughout the town will run all week and a festival arch like ones previously built in the town will be constructed in the Market Place. Other events, including activities at the schools, are also planned.

Mr Huby told Settle Town Council, which has already given the festival a grant of £1,200, that the flag festival and arch would have to be abandoned if the money was not found.

Councillors felt the festival should go ahead as planned and did not want to see any elements dropped. They heard they would get their money back if other funding bids are successful. Also, they would recoup some of the cash in revenue from the events.

Coun Barbara Middleton said: "I am really pleased with this decision. I am aware of the vast amount of time Peter Huby has put into this. It has been a grind and hard work and he has really put his all into it. I am pleased that it will go ahead as planned."

The festival is holding a public meeting for people interested in making banners to display for the flag festival.

The idea is that flags will be up all over the town, and a professional banner-maker is to spend three days helping residents and business people to make them.

The open meeting will be held on Wednesday May 3 in Townhead Court, Settle, at 7pm. All are welcome.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.